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Wouldn't it be better if he were to lead a delegation to those offended countries, Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, North Korea, India, and Japan to smooth things out? Or at least call them up, ala Hillary Clinton, to apologize?
Maybe it is time to eat humble pie because, let us be frank and realistic, that despite the meaningless soothing words that dodge more than explain, things will not be the same again unless some impeccable diplomatic fence-mending initiatives are attempted.

If you are not satisfied with his explanation why don't you communicate directly with him, wise guy? Don't waste your time dishing out suggestions to the wrong platform.

WIKILEAKS REMARKS BY SENIOR DIPLOMATS: MFA's response to Wikileaks

The Straits Times
Dec 13, 2010

By Vanessa Jalleh

THE Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to the various WikiLeaks remarks made by several Singapore leaders and officials on Australian media.

A spokesman said that as a matter of principal, MFA does not comment on leaks but reiterated that conversations with the US Embassy were taken out of context and are based on 'American interpretations of confidential conversations.'

When asked whether the comments would affect Singapore's relationships with the various countries in question, the spokesman said:

"Singapore has long-standing, robust and positive relationships with all countries in our region. These relationships are built on a strong foundation of shared interests and mutually beneficial cooperation in many areas. Countries base relationships on their own interests and not hearsay or gossip."

When asked about possible critical comments about Singapore by other countries, the spokesman added:

'There are many thousands of leaked cables from US diplomatic missions all around our region. I would be very surprised if Singapore were not the subject of at least some of them. As I said earlier, MFA does not comment on leaks. '

Another nation that was insulted was Russia, despite being a major power in its own right, described as having a 3rd world economy, with a health care system that is in shambles, and a country with insurmountable demographic problems. It seems Singapore is an expert on all her neighbours, China, India, North Korea, Japan, and even Russia. How extraordinary.
Now Indian TV is at it http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/12...-india-stupid/. It will be a matter of time before the Indian government unleashes its fury.
Already the Malaysian government, specifically the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is now continuously monitoring the wikileak leaks.
One paper in Malaysia is even suggesting getting lee kuan yew to testify :http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/12...-in-sodomy-ii/ and http://www.temasekreview.com/2010/12...domy-trial-ii/.
Mind you, the formidable Karpal Singh will be in action too.
Oh, what mess we have now!

INTER-RELIGIOUS ORGANISATION AWARD: Tributes for mufti

SINGAPORE'S Mufti Syed Isa Mohamed Semait pored over medical journals and articles on science in order to find out if Muslims here should be allowed to donate their organs.

This and other instances of the 72-year-old religious leader's devotion to his community were brought up in tributes paid on Monday night, when he received the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) award, given out annually.

Representatives of the 10 major faiths, including Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity, were among the 100 guests at the dinner held at the Raffles Town Club.

Senior Minister of State (Foreign Affairs) Zainul Abidin Rasheed, who spoke at the event, said that it was Syed Isa's wisdom and knowledge which led to Muslims here being given the option to donate their organs from August 2008. The decision reversed a 20-year exception for the community and helped increase the pool of potential organ donors.

The mufti, who is stepping down at the end of the year after 38 years, was moved to tears by this and two other tributes.

Ustaz Habib Hassan of the Ba'alwi Mosque called him an exemplary leader who never ran away from challenges, and noted that he was possibly the longest-serving mufti in the Islamic world.

Rabbi Mordechai Abergel and Venerable Shi Fa Rong sharing a light moment with Syed Isa at Raffles Town Club last night. Syed Isa, who is stepping down after 38 years, is possibly the longest-serving mufti in the Islamic world. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE

‘Stupid’, ‘losers’ and ‘corrupt’ are some of the damning assessments by Singapore diplomats of their close Asian neighbours. For many Malaysians, it comes as no surprise that is how Singapore sees the rest of the region.

SINGAPORE’S most senior Foreign Ministry official Bilahari Kausikan is heading for Kuala Lumpur on Dec 22 as a leader of a delegation to discuss KTM Berhad’s land swap deal in Singapore agreed in May by the Prime Ministers of the two countries.

This is the fifth round and possibly the last meeting of the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Imple*mentation Team (MSJIT) between officials of both countries, each side with about 20 people representing various ministries and agencies.

After the last meeting two weeks ago, a short one-paragraph joint statement was issued describing the meeting as one held in a cordial atmosphere.

Come Dec 22, the atmosphere will definitely be awkward, at least to some officials.

Simple analogy – imagine sitting with someone that you know who has been bad-mouthing you to others. How would you feel?

Now, how about sitting down to a meeting with the very man who claimed, among others, that Malaysia was “confused and dangerous, fuelled by the distinct possibility of racial conflict”?

Not only that, Kausikan said back in September 2008 that “a lack of competent leadership is a real problem for Malaysia”.

Courtesy of WikiLeaks and not exactly denied by his boss, Foreign Minister George Yeo, Kausikan’s remarks are riling up officials in Putrajaya.

“His remarks are crude and smack of arrogance. It is not just what he has said but how he said it. It shows his sentiment for us.

“Every time there is an MSJIT meeting, the host country will host lunch and dinner. It is going to be an awkward situation for us, said one government official.

Kausikan’s predecessor Peter Ho has also made damaging remarks on Malaysia, along with the ministry’s ambassador-at-large Tommy Koh whose views of Japan and India were damaging.

“Fat losers, stupid, bad leadership” are some adjectives that had been used by Singaporean diplomats to describe their neighbours.

Yeo, in an immediate attempt to play down reports, defended his officials, saying their comments were taken out of context and were interpretations of views reflected by American officials.

The comments, which Yeo described as “cocktail talk”, were confidential and should not have been released.

Yeo said his ministry would not check the veracity of the remarks, nor comment on what could have gone on in an informal and confidential setting.

It is normal for diplomats to get information from others during cocktails. What is surprising, though, is that the information gathered from the Singaporeans merit attention from the Americans.

“I am sure how it was said by the Singapore diplomats and the sentiment that it merits attention,” said an official.

For those who have dealt with Singapore, nothing has changed.

The general feeling among officials is that their Singapore counterparts do have condescending traits.

WikiLeaks exposés in the past weeks have caused embarrassment to diplomats and government officials around the world.

This week, it is Singapore’s turn. There are thousands of documents yet to be made public by WikiLeaks and who knows if Malaysia would be next, as we are never short of politicians who may not be able to keep their mouths shut.

As Yeo said, he did not think relations with the countries will be affected.

True, but as the closest neighbour with supposedly warm ties, Singapore would do well to show some kind of regret over the remarks made by its officials.

If it had been Singapore at the end of the stick, they would not stop until they get what they want. No doubt, Malaysia will now need to be more alert when dealing with Singapore.

During next week’s meeting, officials will need to remain professional when they meet Kausikan.

They have to stick to the agenda as there are objectives to be met since the leaders have given officials until end of the year to iron out details of the KTM land swap deal and other related projects.

The days of being emotional are long gone. It is time to think strategically for the long term and best interest of Malaysia.

This week, it is Singapore’s turn. There are thousands of documents yet to be made public by WikiLeaks and who knows if Malaysia would be next, as we are never short of politicians who may not be able to keep their mouths shut.

How true!

Even in BC forum, we do have lots of gossips, impolite and not too flattery remarks on players and political leaders of the region. Did we not read remarks that "such and such a player is lousy and should be sacked"? Did we not read that "such and such a politician is corrupt", etc, etc?

Should we scrutinize all the coffee shop talk or so-called cocktail gossips and consider them seriously as Gospel truths? Especially when they could be interpreted wrongly by third parties?

WikiLeaks may somehow have access to all the secret "diplomatic" information on many countries and personalities and they may release them from time to time to an excited and attentive audience but are they really doing a service or disservice to all concerned? Is their action justified in all circumstances and situations? What happens if on account of the "leaks" being misinterpreted someone (like secret agents) got killed or property got damaged? Or relationships got soured, etc, etc?

If a tiny red dot can call Japan and India stupid and Russia a third world economy in official dialog with US government officials (don't believe it came from cocktail parties), it obviously is punching way above its weight. The result is kaput!

Ageing study to be done in 3 phases

SINGAPORE : The five-year study in Marine Parade on ageing, announced by Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong on Sunday, will be carried out in three phases.

Phase one is expected to cost over S$500,000, according to Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Lim Boon Heng.

By 2030, about 20 per cent of Singapore's population will be aged 65 and above.

At Marine Parade, two in 10 are already above 65 years old, which is why the estate was chosen for the study.

Phase one will involve getting feedback from some 4,000 seniors aged above 60 as well as having focus group discussions. This phase is expected to be completed by June next year.

Occupational therapists will also advise the authorities on how to make flats more elderly friendly.

Mr Lim, who is the Minister-in-Charge of Ageing Issues, said: "If a person is frail and wants to use a buggy to move from his flat to the shop that he must go to, what kind of problems does he encounter and therefore, would there be modifications we need to make for the barrier free programme to make it possible for him to do so?

"There may also be issues with others who don't use a buggy, but who can still walk - but when they come to the overhead pedestrian bridge, they may find it a bit of a challenge. And to use the traffic lights, they might find ... the lights change too fast. So these are things we need to know."

It is not all just about modifying and improving infrastructure, but also how to motivate seniors to engage more with the younger generation and vice versa. This will also be looked at with regard to the way neighbourhoods are designed.

The minister gave an example of how an estate, such as Marine Parade, could be made more attractive for grandchildren to visit their grandparents.

Phase 2 will involve coming up with solutions based on the feedback gathered.

The final phase will examine whether lessons drawn from the Marine Parade study could be used at other mature estates in Singapore.

When it comes to the question of who will bear the costs of any new upgrading or facilities for the elderly, the minister said it is too early to tell.

Mr Lim said: "And what I foresee would be modifications, tweaking certain things here and there, so I don't expect that we need to have a huge multi-million dollar or ... 100 million dollar kind of projects to make the estate more liveable."

Mr Lim added that some of the less complicated modifications resulting from the study could be implemented earlier at other mature estates.

If a tiny red dot can call Japan and India stupid and Russia a third world economy in official dialog with US government officials (don't believe it came from cocktail parties), it obviously is punching way above its weight. The result is kaput!

Devil's Advocate, don't attempt to punch above your own weight with statements that have not been substantiated and try to continue to discredit the tiny red dot in the manner you have been doing for a long time and think you have the "freedom" to do so without impunity.

Devil's Advocate, don't attempt to punch above your own weight with statements that have not been substantiated and try to continue to discredit the tiny red dot in the manner you have been doing for a long time and think you have the "freedom" to do so without impunity.

Well, isn't it true that wikileaks did contain leaks about Singapore calling Japan and India stupid and Russia' economy 3rd world? These news are not from me. How can you say "you have been doing for a long time and think you have the "freedom" to do so without impunity"? Loh, what I am doing is merely to point readers to what news that are publicly printed. These articles give a balanced view in a thread that would otherwise be very one-sided. You should welcome what other news sources have to say too, don't you think so.
Anyway, Loh are you connected with the PAP?

This week, it is Singapore’s turn. There are thousands of documents yet to be made public by WikiLeaks and who knows if Malaysia would be next, as we are never short of politicians who may not be able to keep their mouths shut.

How true!

Even in BC forum, we do have lots of gossips, impolite and not too flattery remarks on players and political leaders of the region. Did we not read remarks that "such and such a player is lousy and should be sacked"? Did we not read that "such and such a politician is corrupt", etc, etc?

Should we scrutinize all the coffee shop talk or so-called cocktail gossips and consider them seriously as Gospel truths? Especially when they could be interpreted wrongly by third parties?

WikiLeaks may somehow have access to all the secret "diplomatic" information on many countries and personalities and they may release them from time to time to an excited and attentive audience but are they really doing a service or disservice to all concerned? Is their action justified in all circumstances and situations? What happens if on account of the "leaks" being misinterpreted someone (like secret agents) got killed or property got damaged? Or relationships got soured, etc, etc?